Shoe tree



2 Sheets-Sheefl 2 INVENTOR.

J. B. MUT-CH July 4, 1950 SHOE TREE Filed Feb. 4, 1946 Patented July 4, 11950 SHOE TREE James B. Mutch, Camden, N. VY.,y assigner `to Schelter Last Co., Inc., Rocl1'ester,`N.v Y., a cor- 4 poration of New York i Application February 4, 1946, sciai Nc. 645,340

My invention relates to shoe trees or forms and more particularly to expansible shoe trees or forms used in connection withA mens or womens shoes for preserving the original shape thereof.

In using a shoe tree or form, it is important that the forepart of the tree be inserted in the shoe as far forwardly as possible and that the sides of the forepartof the tree, after the tree has `reached its fully forward position, be expandedV sidewardly into engagement with the inner sidewalls of the shoe in close tting shoe shaping relation therewith. It is` moreover defsirable that the tree .be capable of easy and quick insertion into the shoe. i

An object of my invention is to provide` a simply constructed shoe tree which may be more easily and quickly tted into the shoe.

[Another object of my invention is to provide a', shoe tree in which the forepart is positively held in collapsed position until it is fully forward in the shoe, after which the halves of the forepart are 'expanded sidewardly against and into intimate contact with` the inner sidewalls of'. the shoe during the actl of positioning the lheel piece of the tree in its proper position' inthe heel of the shoe. ,l v My invention further contemplates the provision of a shoe tree which is longitudinally expansible and contractible and in which the two halves of the forepart are positively `held collapsed so that the forepart may be fully rpositioned in the toe of the sh'oe with the parts in such collapsed condition; and as the tree is longitudinally contracted to enable insertion of the heel piece of the tree into the heel of the shoe, the two halves of the forepart are forcibly and positively expanded with the two halves of the forepart moving in parallelism into rm and form fitting relation with the inner sidewalls of the shoe.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will Vbe set forth more particularly in the claim 'and will be apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the shoe tree of my invention with some of the parts of the tree being indicated in dotted lines;

Fig.` 2 is a View taken substantially on the line '2-2 of Fig. 1 in the direction indicated by the'arrows; s

Fig. 3 is a view taken substantially on the line 3 3 cf Fig. 1 in `the direction indicated by* thcarrows; I

1 claim. (cm2- 1282 Fig. 4 is a'view taken substantially on the line 4 4. of Fig. lin the direction indicated by the arrows;

. Fig.l 5 is a plan view of the spreader for expandi ing the halves of the forepart of the tree laterallya i Y Fig. 6 is a plan view of the shoe tree of my invention showing a shoe partly in section and with portions of the forepart of the shoe tree' cut away more clearly to illustrate the operation of the tree; and

' Fig. '7 is a view taken substantially on the line 1 -I of Fig. 6 in the direction indicated by the arrows. i s "In the accompanying drawings, I have illus-l tratedthe preferred embodiment lof the invention wherein the shoe tree ycomprises a forepart, generally indicated by the numeral I I. The forepart iswdivided longitudinally thereof as indicated at I2, preferably along approximately the longitudinal center line 'into two forepart sections I3 and Iii.v The forepart is connected by means presently'described to' a heel piece or lieel section, generally indicated by the numeral I6.

The Vforepart sectionsl I3 and i4 are laterally expansible along the'plane of division 4I2 from the collapsed position shown in Fig. lto the expanded'position shownin Fig. 6. :"This expansion and contraction `of the halves'of'the forepart'is accompanied or controlled by the forward and rearward movement of a spreader IIv as it moves fromthe dotted line position, shown in Fig. l, tothe solid line position shown in Fig. 6.l

The forepart of the tree is shaped so that when it is in the expanded position shown in Fig. 6 it will conform to the conguration of the interior of'the' iront portion of a shoe. The forepart, when expanded, intimately engages the inner sidewalls ofy the shoe for the purpose of restoring 1 The spreader I1 (Fig. 5) is preferably constructed of ber or other suitable non-metallic material and comprises aflat plate of pressed fibrous material which is tapered forwardly and rearwardly from a point I5 intermediate its ends. Ihe front end of the spreader, as indicated at I8, is of decreased width and rounded. The side edges, as indicated at I9, from the point I5 of greatest width of the spreader are straight and converge toward the roundedjforward end of thespreader. The rearward end of the spreader is provided with a cut-out portion 2| and has a shown in Fig. '7 the forward portion of the grooves have a slight upward tilt and the grooves are adapted to slidably receive the spreader I1.

The grooves 24 are taperedfforwardly toA cot,-` form to and cooperate with the taper of the side edges I9 of the spreader. Thus, when .the spread-. l

er is moved forwardly from the position'shown'in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 6, the side edgesot the spreader will normally substantially continuously yengage the sides or bottoms. of. the grooves for the purpose of assisting in theshifting the halves of the forepart of the tree to. their expanded position4 whiler guiding. them s o that ,tlzielsffA move substantially-in parallelismwithreach other.

. vAt therearofgthe sections i3 and.v I'4.the grooves are tapered tovr a lesser extent thanthe spreader,

'as'.indicatedgat' 26;.toprovide clearance around thearearwardendof the spreader. When thesections are collapsed, .as shown in` Fig.. 1,1. the spreaderr is withdrawn rearwardly far enoughto permit the sections I3` and. I4 to shift sov that their side edges move into the substantially-com.- mons plane I2 and engage eachother. In this position` ofthe partsfthe` forepart is of the smallest-,lateral dimensions possible:

Thel sectionsr I-3vand I4 of the forepart are pref,- erably; atileast'partially, guided in their lateral movementsby a. oating transversepinv 21. For therpurposefof` receiving the pin; the sectionsv of theI forepart are provided with aligned `transfversef'bores 218;` slightly larger indiameter and combinedxlength than thepin: 2:1 so as to'- freely andi. loosely; receive theyv same.

shiftgf freely with; respect thereto, it would,` of course; be possible to. x the pin with' respeettto onevforepart. section: and -permit'v theI other' sec..- tion to shiftwith respect to it. i

. Ereferably the. guide lpin is located approxi mately adjacent thelongitudinal center` off: the forepart for the purpose ofk more eielctively-guidingthe movements offth'efsectionsi. Y. Theguide pin f is preferablyiofcwoodgbut anyfother: suitable mai-i teria-l 'may be'used; The pin:=.whiletfitiseryesfin general asa guide; isl suciently loose inithe openingsk tov permit some shitting.- ofth'efsections .of the forepart out' ofparallei'ism with eachfotler shouldI such shiftingy be necessaryatoenable the tree more effectively` ,to'con-form-v itself-- tos'tle shape of theforepart of` various shoes with'whih it may be employed. 'y Extending vertically and ilxed'ineach` ,of the sections vI3 and I4 is a preferablyiwood'e'n pin 25J.' The pins .lie in substantially the same lateral plane, traverse the grooves 24 formed in the forepartsections. and lie. in thev cam. slotslot thespreader... When the parts.v are.. shifted" from the position shownin Fig. .1.- .to.tha.t. shownin Fig. 6,.the` inner side. edges `of the-cam slots.-2 engage` tl1e..pinsy and.. cause. the. sections.. to., be cammed. and positively Vspread apart.^ Thisaction is .assisted b y the.. spreading.. action..- of..the..side

While- I have shcyvnrthepin as loose so that the sections` may,

edges i9 of the spreader as they move forwardly in engagement with bottoms of the grooves.

Aswill be appreciated, the rearward ends of the slots 23 limit the spreading movement of the sections thereby enabling the length yof the guide pin 21 to be determined so that it will be retained in its openings when the tree is spread to its `maximum expanded condition. Thus, the floating, guidezpinwcan not. be accidentlyadisplaced. A pair of aligned openings 3! is provided in the forepart sections. These openings are adapted ton receive a coiled spring 32. A nail 33 is provided adjacent each end of the spring which extends:through'L a Yc oilof the spring for the purpose of Vanchoring- -eachfend of the spring to one of the sectionsiA is and t4.. The spring is arranged so thatl it is tensioned slightly when the parts are in the collapsed position shown in Fig. 3. Any effort.v to expand or shift the sections with respect to each other must be performed against thacollapsingeffort. ofthe .spring 3.2.-. Thus., the sectionslpf theiorepart are normally .retained in the.. collapsed position shown inthe Eig... 1'.-

.The factsthatthe forepart is normally main. tained collapsed is one of the important aspects. oimy invention since .it enables the. fore'partpof the treelto. beiittedto the shoe. while the-.forem part.f.i`sin yaicollapsed.condition.. Since the. fore-.-v

part isfusually madeconsiderably narrower than the widthof1 the shoe .with which.. ity is. normally' tofbe.used,\...this. arrangement. enables-.the fore pait to.` be. slipped. into. the shoevreadily. and." quickly..l The forepart .may then. be shiftedfor.- vwardly in the shoe. to. its maximum-forward. posi-Vl tion while the spring retainsfthe. sections..col.v lapsed., `j v The. location .of the` .spring 32 .with respect. .to they spreaderisof .considerable importance. v the lspring locatedgps shown .in Fig.. 1,"..tlfie tendencyisfor. the spring. to pullthe two halvesv of the.orepart.,together.and. thereby cause the side edges I/.Siof the, spreader to ride in the bottoms. ofthel horizontal grooves 2.4, with. thebottomsoi the ,grooves pressed. against. the. straight. side edges. I|9 ofthe spreader throughout. their. length; Whenthespreaderis shifted forwardlythespring. tends to maintain this relationship.. .aswillrbe clear from. anexamination ofFig. 5. That isnthe spring; is.;so. located -withfrespoct tothe spreader that. it-1 does,v notfcause. the forepart sections to, rock upon thespreader.dnringmovement of the spreader. 1 y .f v above will: perhaps be more clear if. the operation which would occur if the spring were locatedffmorenearly towardthe. toe of. the toree part. is considered.. Thus, for exampleg. if? theL spring-were located well forwardly of thecurved portion. .I3` of the spreader, .upon-*shifting the. spreader fr)rward-ly, there.Y would be a tendencyfonthe-spning Atocausetthe sections of -the forex? part to rock about the forward endf of'` the spreader..V Under such circumstances.. the; rear of; the forepant would'be yspread-more rapidly; particularly: at.y the beginningl of the -forward nwvernentof` the. spreader, vthan the toerportion resulting in an.' undesirable eXpanding-.actionot the..forepart sections.

Themostsatisfactory.results are securedffwhen the two halvesrof the -fiorepartimoveawayffromeach.- other i while being maintainedfsubstantially inr parallelism v While Ihaveshownv the. pref-erred location for the spring, it is possible tor-locate spring; at.- anyf point between slightly forwarctof the positionshownandappoint .just rearwardo. the guide pin 21. With the spring located wfiifhinly these limits, the spring lies for the most part within the confines of the movement of the straight side edges I9 of the spreader. There is no tendency for the sections to be rocked by the spring about the spreader so as to move out of parallelism with each other. While it is desirable that the two halves of the forepart be maintained in parallelism, it will be appreciated that the two sections can be deformed out of parallelism if this action is required by reason of the necessity of the forepart conforming to the shape of the forepart of the shoe to which the tree is being fitted.

The lugs 22 are adapted to fit into openings 34 formed on the forward ends of a tubular member 36. This arrangement provides a nonrigid connection between the tubular member 36 and the spreader to enable the tubular member 36 to be pivoted about the lugs 22. The tubular member 36 is provided with a pair of aligned slots 37 which are adapted to receive a cross pin 38. The cross pin 38 is rigidly connected to the forward part of the heel piece as shown in Fig. 7. The heel piece is provided with a bore 39 adapted to receive the end of the tubular member 36. A spring 4| seated in the end of the bore, as shown at 42, has its other end pressing forwardly on the end of the tubular member 36.

The spring 4| normally retains the parts so that the tree is expanded in a longitudinal direction to its fullest extent. The spring 4| is also of considerably greater strength than the spring 32 so that when the spring 4| is compressed, while the forepart of the tree is held against forward movement, the .pressure of the spring 4| pushes the spreader forwardly against the collapsing effort of the spring 32.

The heel piece I6 of the shoe tree is preferably shaped at its rear edge 43 to conform generally to the shape of the heel of the shoe so that as indicated in Fig. '7 it will engage the upper edge or upper section 44 of the heel of the shoe, exert pressure thereon, and prevent the edges 46 of the shoe from sagging. This arrangement, when the trees are regularly used with a pair of shoes, minimizes the tendency of the sides of the shoe to gape at the ankle. While the heel part of the tree may be of any suitable configuration, I have shown it for-med into a handle 4'| to enable convenient operation and handling of the tree.

When the tree is to be fitted to a shoe, the parts are in the transversely collapsed position of Fig. 1. In this position of the parts, the forepart of the tree may be quickly and freely inserted in the shoe and pushed forwardly to its fullest extent. The user then may pivot the heel section of the tree on the lugs 22 while simultaneously pushing forward on vthe handle 41 so as to decrease the over-all longitudinal length of the tree. When the over-all length of the' tree has been contracted sufliciently, the heel piece may be pivoted downwardly so as to be positioned in the heel of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 7.

During the contraction of the spring 4|, the force thereof is transmitted to the spreader thereby overcoming the collapsing effort of the spring 32 and causing the sections of the forepart to move in parallelism with each other into intimate shoe shaping relation with the inner sidewalls of the forepart of the shoe.

It will be particularly observed that no spreading action of the forepart of the tree occurs until after the tree is in its fully forward position and until an effort is made to contract the spring 4| for the purpose of fitting the heel of the tree into the heel of the shoe. Because of the location of the spring with respect to the spreader, the engagement of the side edges of the spreader with the bottoms of the grooves and the guide pin, the sections of the forepart will move substantially in parallelism at all times unless deformed from this parallel relationship by the shape of the particular shoe with which the tree is employed.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

A shoe tree comprising, in combination, a forepart divided longitudinally into two sections movable transversely with respect to each other from a collapsed position to an expanded position, a spring extending between the sections adjacent the longitudinal center thereof for normally drawing the sections into collapsed position, a guide extending between the sections and located adjacent the longitudinal center of the forepart but rearward of the spring, a groove in each of said sections, a spreader having diverging spreader edges extending into and engaging the side walls of said grooves, partsv of the engaging portions of said spreader lwith the side walls of said grooves being substantially throughout movement of the spreader from a rearward position to a forward position in which the sections are spread in the same transverse `plane as the spring to force the sections to move transversely with respect; to each other in parallelism unless such action is modified by engagement with the inner walls of the shoe, an element pivotally connected to said spreader independently of said guide, a heel piece having a bore into which said element extends and a spring in said bore normally urging said element in a direction such as to move the heel piece and the spreader apart.

JAMES B. MUTCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,016,827 Heuyard Feb. 6, 1912 1,651,329 Elmstrom Nov. 29, 1927 1,753,857 Galterio et al. Apr. 8, 1930 2,084,743 schler June 22, 1937 2,173,784 Kasin Sept. 19, 1939 2,215,835 Mutch Sept. 24, 1940 2,340,404 Mutch Feb. 1, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,477 France Nov. 21, 1922 40,746 Switzerland Sept. 5, 1907 733,301 France July 5, 1932 

